Smokehouse



March 5, 1929. BRAND 1,704,650

Y SMQKEHOUSE Filed Feb. 16. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR L e0 Brand ATTbRNEY Patented Mar. 5, 192$ NIE' - LEO BRAND, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

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Application filed February 16, 1928. Serial No. 254,885.

This invention relates to smoke houses, an object of the invention being to provide within a smoke house an improved construction for supporting and imparting rotary motion to a'frame supporting meats to be smoked.

A further object is to provide a smoke houseof this character with an improved construction of rail and rail support which insures the proper centering of a hanger supand basket can be moved to any desired pointv or from any desired point.

A further object is to'provide improved electrically operated means for imparting rotary motion to the hanger and basket and control said circuitthrough the medium of one of the doors of the smoke house so that rotary motion cannot be imparted untilthe doors are securely closed.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in'certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts which will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings I Figure 1 is a view in longitudinal section through the smoke house;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the'smoke house;

Figureg is a fragmentary View in vertical transverse section on. the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary View looking at the upper front portion of the smoke house; Figure 5 is a fragmentary view in section on the line 55 of Figure 4;

1 represents asmoke house proper which; may be made of any suitable material but is Figure 6 is a'sectional perspective view looking from the interior of the smoke house and showing the supporting-means for the" preferably of sheet metal suitably lined and, packed and provided in its lower portion with a burner 2. A channel bar 3 is secured from the top of the smoke housel and eX-' tends transversely thereof and supports a projects into the smoke house, this shaft being located centrally relative to the top of the smoke house. An arched bracket 6 is fixed to the bar 3 and also has a bearing for the shaft 5, and a ring or head 7 is fixed to the upper end of the shaft and holds the shaft against downward movement. 7

Between the head 7 and the bracket 6 washers 8 may be located to properly'space the parts, and similar washers 9 maybe locatedbetween the bearing 4 and a beveled bearlng' 4 through 'which'a'vertical shaft 5 gear wheel 10 secured to the shaft 5. Motion is transmitted to the gear wheel 10 by means of a beveled pinion 11 meshin therewith This pinion 11 is secured on a shaft 12 mount- 1 ed in'bearings 13 and 14 in the bracket 6 and in a bracket'15. The shaft 12, as a matter of fact,const1tutes two alined sections connected,

.by a clutch 16 which is controlled by a lever 17 pivotally supported between its ends, as

shown at 18, on a bracket 19 fixed to the bar 3. f

Motion is transmitted to the shaft 12 through the medium of anelectrie motor 20 supported on'top of the smoke house,'the shaft21 of said motor operating to turn a sprocket wheel 22; i i

' In Figures 2 and 1, Iillustr'ate a casing'28 which represents a gear reducing casing containing asuitable arrangement of reducing gears so that the speed of the motor is reduced and the sprocket wheel 22 is turned at the desired speed. This sprocket'wheel 22 is connee-ted by a sprocket chain 24 with a sprocketwheel 25 on one of the members of clutch 16.

The front of the smoke house 1 is normally 3 closed by a pair of hinged doors 26 and 27,

the door '26 having an overlapping bead 28 which overlaps the edge of the door 27 to effect a tight closure. The door 27, which closes first and opens last,'has a finger29 thereon adapted to engage an electric switch arm 80 located at the'uppe'r and front'portion' of the smoke house andpivotally supported in abox'or casing 81; 32is a coiled spring which normally holds the switch arm in position to open the circuit to the motor 20, as clearly shown in Figure 5. I

7 When the door 27 is closed its finger2-9' will force the switch arm 30 to a position to close I cline'd, as shown arse, 'and'is providedwith the circuit and impart rotary motion to the shaft 5 pr'ojeeting through the top of the smoke house. 33 represents a'block or casting which is firmly secured to the lower end of shaft 5 and located in the upper central portion of the smoke house. The block 33 has a base flange 34 on which an angle rai'l 35i's rigidly secured. I I

The rail 37 whereit is supported entire block 33 has its upper edge downwardly ina stop or abutment 39 so that a wheeled carrier tO niounted to run on the track 37 will ride down the incline and against the abutineiit 39'so to properly center the carriage relative to the shaft and maintain the carriage in this position during the rotary motion imparted thereto. I

Thewheeled carriage 40 supports a basket l adapted to contain meat to be smoked, and

this basket may of course be made in-any suit-,

able manner but will be of a size to turn freely within the smoke house 1. I

I refer to tlie'member 41 as a bask et although it is sometimes called a frame, cage,

tree or'other terms but to avoid repetition I shall refer tofthe same as a basket,

The rail 37 is of a length to extend to a point adjacent the 'front wall of the smoke house, and to support this free end of the rail I while the carriage is passing over the samelI provide a depending bar 42 secured to the inner face of the front of the smoke house 1 t and this'bar 42 at its lower end has a ledge43 35 integral therewith and having at least one inclined or tapering end 44 on to which the free end of the rail 37 rides, and is supported in its position of alinement with'a track or rail 45 outside of the smoke house, as shown in Figures land 2 of the drawing.

This rail or track45 mayof course extend to any desired point or points and is spaced from the front ofthe smoke house. The gap between the rail 15 and the rail 37 is closed. by

a track section 461 pivotally connected at one end to the track 45, as shown at47, and having a finger 458 at its freeend. a

I The' rail 37 at its free end is notched, as shown "at 49, to receive the finger 48, and plates are secured to the opposite sides of therail so as to confine the rail section 46' between them when said section couples the II alined rails 45 and 37..

It is to be understood of course that there is sutficient lateral play of the pivot/7 to allow the section 46 to uncouple and fall by gravity to the position shown in Figure- 1, and

as indicated in Figures 4, 6 and of the drawing, the front ofithe casing has an opening51 therein of asize to accommodate the wheeled I carrier 40. This opening is closed by the doors 26 and 27 as indicated in Figure 4.

In-operatiomthe loaded cage track or rail 45, and assuming that the doors I I 41 suspended from the wheeled carrier 40 is runialong the of the smoke house are open and the track section 46 coupled to the track or rail '37, the wheeled carrier and basket can be run into the smoke house. As the wheeled carrier in'ovesalonr the track 37 it will ride down the incline 38 and come-to a stop against the abutment 39 so as to properly center the same relative to the shaft5. When the track section l6 is uncoupledandallowed to swing downwardly to the position shown in Figure 1 the doors of the smoke house can be closed, and as the 'door 27 is closed it will close t'heel'e'c't'ric circuit and start the motor. The clutch 16 controlled by the lever 17 can then be thrown into operation and rotary motion 'iinp'arted'to the basket. hen the'tracks or rails 37'and e5 are in alineinent itwill be noted "that the ,bdge 43 will sustain the weight of the freeend of the rail 37, and this weight will'le'e sustained until the carrier reaches a position 'of'suspens on on the block 33, as clearly shown in Figure 1.

I when the operation is ended, the track 37 is alined with the track 45, and this maybe accomplished by a slight manual "movement, the tracksection 46 then "being moved to bridge the gap between the rails and the wheeled carrier and basket can beinoved out of the smoke house to any point desired.

My improved smoke house has man' advan tages, not only from the fact that it insures a proper centering of the wheeled carrier'and basket but it prevents accidental'movement from'this position, and the rail sup ortin the carrieris provided with a support for its free end so that there will be 'nosaggingor dropping of the track when the carriage passesover the free end thereof.

parts described without departing from my invention and hence I do not limit myself to the precise details set forth but consider myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fallwithinthe spirit and scope of the appended claims. i

I claim:

1. A smoke house, having a shaft projecting through the top thereof,'a block secured to the shaft, a rail secured to the block and having an inclined upper edge and an abutment at its extermity whereby a wheeled car- I rier on said rail is directedby gravity to a centralizing position on the block, and a track outside of the smoke h ouse adapted to aline with theifirst mentioned rail.

I 2. A smoke house,'having a shaftprojecting through the top thereof, a'blo'ck secured to the shaft, a rail secured to the block and having an inclined upper edge and an abutment at its extremity whereby a wheeled carrier on said rail is directed by gravity to a centralizing position on the block, and a ledge in the casing supporting the free end of said rail when said rail is alined with a rail outside of the casing.

3. A smoke house, having a shaft projecting through the top thereof, a block secured to the shaft, a rail secured to the block and having an inclined upper edge and an abutment at its extremity, whereby a wheeled carrier on said rail is directed bv gravity to a centralizing position on the block, a rail outside of the smoke house spaced from the smoke house, a ledge in the smoke house adapted to support the free end of the first mentioned rail, and a pivoted track section connected'with the outer rail and adapted to couple to the first mentioned rail to bridge the gap between them.

4. In a smoke house, the combination with a rotary block in the top thereof, a rail supported by said block, a wheeled carrier adapted to run on said rail'and support a basket, an abutment on said rail against which the carrier engages to center the carrier relative to the block, a track outside of the casing spaced from the smoke house, amovable track section adapted to bridge the gap between said last mentioned rail and the first mentioned rail, and means for supporting the 

